Starry Starry Night
by EbonyBeach
Summary: ONE SHOT. Aragorn and Arwen need a break from palace life, so one night they ride west into the sunset and talk about the stars. post rotk. fluff!


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Hello everyone! I just felt like having a break from my stories (don't worry, it's only a short break!) so I wrote this... its fluffy and has no plot but hey.....!! 

Summary: ONE SHOT. Aragorn and Arwen need a break from palace life, so one night they ride west into the sunset and talk about the stars. post rotk. fluff!

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: tolkein owns everything.... i just interfere!

Dedication: as ever to my brilliant and crazy friend Cerridwen... you know why! ::hugs:: your fuzzy lil' Topo X

A/N: um... i know 'heaven' is canon but I couldn't find a better word so...!! Enjoy!

Starry Starry Night

Aragorn sighed and put his head in his hands. It had been a very long day. Too long for a man like him. Even though he had been acquainted with his kingly duties for over seven years, he still longed for the freedom that he had been deprived of. It was like Arwen said: "You can take the ranger out of the wild, but you can't take the wild out of the ranger!"

Speaking of the love of his life, he thought he'd better go and find her. He hadn't exactly made time for her over the past few days; not out of choice, but because of the immense workload that seemed to have crept up on him. It was late, and all he wanted to do was lie down and sleep, but he knew he had a lot of making up to do, and now was as good a time as any to start.

He had been thinking of something for the past few days, and now he could put it into action. He smiled to himself. Yes, there was no way she could stay angry at him after this.

Arwen was putting on her night dress, ready to climb into a cold, empty bed, when someone came in. She looked in the mirror to see behind her, and felt her heartbeat quicken slightly when she saw her husband standing there. His shirt was untucked from his trousers, the sleeves were rolled up and it was unbuttoned halfway, revealing his broad, tanned chest. His hair was a mess as usual, and as her eyes scanned over him through the mirror, her hands began to shake. She picked up her hairbrush, more to give her hands something to do than anything else, and began combing it through her raven locks. She was pretending she hadn't seen him, though they both knew she had.

Suddenly she felt someone's hands take the brush from her, and she let it go. It was placed on the dressing table, as strong arms wrapped themselves around her waist, and oh-so familiar lips began covering her neck and shoulders with kisses.

When Aragorn knew she could bear it no longer, he turned her in his embrace and kissed her with all the love in his heart.

"Estel- " she began when they broke apart, but he put a finger on her lips.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly, searching her star-lit eyes.

She leant her head against his chest and sighed. "I missed you," she whispered. How could she stay mad at him when he kissed her like that?

"I missed you too, and I love you."

She smiled to herself, feeling a warm shiver spread through her body, the sort she felt everytime he said those words. She reached up and kissed him again, but he pulled back after a short time. "What's the matter?" She asked, hurt showing clearly on her face.

He laughed softly. "Nothing, _meleth_. How could something be the matter? When I have you in my arms, everything is just perfect." She tried to speak but he kissed her to stop the words. "Put on something warm," he instructed suddenly. "We're going out."

"Where?"

"No questions, just do it. And don't worry," he said when he saw the look on her face, "I've sorted everything out. The children are asleep and safe, and the guards know where we'll be if anything happens."

"And where is that?" She asked, but he only grinned.

"You'll see."

"What will I see?"

"You'll see."

"What?"

"For the sake of the Valar,_ you will see_!" He hit her lightly on the backside and she jumped at the unexpected gesture, looking at him in an amused way. "Now come on," he said, ushering her towards the wardrobe. "Put on something more, er, _appropriate_."

She smiled but didn't move. He raised his eyebrows. "Well? Come on, it's getting dark, we need to go soon." She just looked at him. "What?"

"Why isn't this _appropriate_?" She gestured to her silk nightdress.

He sighed, exasperated and sat down heavily on the bed. "For the last bloody time, you will see when we get there! That's if we ever do..." He muttered as an afterthought.

"No," she sat next to him and rubbed his shoulders with one hand, placing her other casually on his leg. "What I mean is, I'm not sure I want to go wherever it is if this is not _appropriate _dress." She moved closer to him, taking his hands from his face in hers and kissing him softly. "In fact," she whispered in heated tones, "I'd rather not be wearing anything at all."

Aragorn's gaze darkened. "Arwen-" he began, but she put a finger to his lips, pushing him back onto the bed and straddling his waist.

"It's been so long," she murmured, slowly undoing his shirt to reveal the hard planes of his chest beneath. She ran her hands over the tanned skin, leaning down and kissing the helpless man beneath her with fierce passion. It had indeed been too long since she'd felt like this.

Aragorn groaned and, with every bit of willpower he possessed, turned over so he was on top of his wife. "_Meleth_, two nights ago we-"

She shook her head and he trailed off. "Too long," she said, reaching up to meet his lips with hers. After a few minutes he pulled back and reluctantly stood up, taking Arwen's hands and making her get to her feet too.

"No," he said firmly when the familiar pleading look came to her face. "Come on, we're going, now. No excuses." He softened and wrapped his arms around her waist. "You'll like it," he told her, kissing her nose. "I promise."

* * *

Half an hour later, the king and queen reached the Pelennor Hills, west of the White Tower. Aragorn took his wife's hand and helped her descend from Roheryn, who he trusted enough not to need to tie up. 

They walked, hand in hand, for a time in silence, amongst the niphredil flowers of early spring, transfixed by the beauty of this paradise. The sun was setting; half the glowing sphere had already dipped below the horizon to the west, and the visible half was a deep shade of crimson which radiated colour into the darkening sky. Varda was lighting the stars, and Tilion had started his journey with Telperion.

They stopped on the crest of the hill and Aragorn wrapped his arms around Arwen's waist from behind and rested his head one her shoulder. Still slience reigned.

After a time, when Arien had almost disappeared below the distant horizon, they began to sway gently as one, to an unheard melody. Arwen thought that if she spoke it would shatter the ethereal mirage, but her gentle voice just made Aragorn believe he was even closer to heaven.

"It's breath taking," she whispered, and it truly was.

Slowly Aragorn lay down on the soft grass, pulling his wife with him. As the last rays of sunlight faded into a pink-tinted darkness, millions of stars suddenly shone brightly, like tiny candles way up high.

Arwen lay at right angles to her husband, her head on his chest. His hand reached for hers, and when their eyes met there was a silent understanding that only those completely in love could ever know. After a time they both looked to the sky, wondering at the vastness of it all.

"When I was little," Arwen began softly, "Ada used to tell me that stars are where Men go when they die." She squeezed her husband's hand, a small smile lighting her eyes. "That's where we'll go someday."

Aragorn didn't reply for a few moments. He was surprised to hear Arwen speaking about death and her mortality; it was a subject she usually avoided. When he found the words to say, he had to lick his lips - suddenly they were very dry. "_Meletha_," he said, searching her crystal gaze for any hint of sadness or regret at her choice. There didn't seem to be any. "What you gave up for me... for _us_... Do you- I mean..." He paused, searching for the way to voice the question that often plagued his mind. "Do you ever wish you could go back? Make different choices, follow different paths?"

She turned over and stroked his bearded cheek, kissing him softly. "I will never regret the choices I have made, for all the immortality in Valinor." He reached up and cupped her cheek in his hand, wiping her tears away. "Amin mela lle," she told him, meaning it from the bottom of her heart.

He smiled a sad smile and looked to the sky again, prompting his wife to follow suit and lie back beside him.

"Do you think it's true?" He murmured, half to himself.

Arwen subconsciously tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, as if showing the world that she was Elven yet content to die mortal in the arms of the man she loved. "What's true?"

He didn't meet her gaze. "That Men go to the stars when they die?"

She smiled. "I hope so," she said quietly, finally able to look deep into his grey eyes. It was those eyes she had been intrigued by so long ago; the love, wisdom and valour that she had seen there. It was those eyes she had fallen in love with, the ones that gave her hope in the darkest of times, the ones that told her she was loved without even making a sound.

Aragorn took his wife's hand and kissed it gently. "Why?" He asked. "Why do you hope so? Surely no one hopes to become a star."

She laughed softly. "On the contrary, _melethron_. _I_ hope to become a star. Stars burn eternally, like my love for you, and there is nothing I could want more than to spend forever in your arms."

He smiled and pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her. "I think you've just changed my mind about not wanting to become a star," he whispered to her pointed ear, kissing her forehead and holding her with all the strength in his body. They were silent for a short time before Aragorn spoke. "Do you miss him?"

Arwen met his eyes. "Who?"

"Elrond."

She nodded slowly, knowing it would hurt her husband but that lying about her feelings would hurt him even more. "He's my Ada, of course I miss him. But he's with Nana now, and however much I love them, they love each other too. They're home now; together, one. Like you and me." She kissed him, leaning into him like she wanted their bodies to melt together, never to be separated. She pulled back eventually and said quietly, "You know me better than I know myself. You know I miss my family, but you also know that my love for you can never be compared. Or I least I thought you knew."

He shook his head and leant it against her shoulder, clearing his mind of all the confusion and misunderstanding. When he had managed this, he brushed a strand of hair behind his wife's ear and kissed her lips with his. "I do." he whispered, his face inches from hers. "I do, you know I do. I'm sorry for- " He trailed off, unsure of exactly what it was he'd done seeing as she'd brought up the topic in the first place.

Arwen smiled and he mirrored her. "There's nothing to apologise for," she told him, nuzzling her nose against his. "You're just a feeble-minded idiot who never knows when to shut up, and I have to excuse you for that."

"Arwen Undómiel, I love you," he said, pressing his lips to hers. "Despite your hurtful insults!"

"It's my pleasure," she grinned, wrapping her arms round his neck and tilting her head to kiss him hard on the mouth. Their tongues immediately engaged each other in their familiar game of give and take, and the rest of their bodies followed suit. They soon forgot about their royal titles, as what was respectable soon gave way to what was inevitable. They didn't care though; no one would ever find out.

* * *

It was ironic, then, that every man who had passed from the world was watching secretly from his or her tiny star in the twilight sky.

* * *

"Is he asleep?" Arwen asked as her husband climbed back into bed. 

Aragorn blew out the candle, pulling his wife against him. "He wanted me to read him a bedtime story," he groaned. He was of course referring to his three year old son's want for 'bedtime' stories at two o'clock in the morning.

Arwen smiled in the darkness. "Which one did you tell him?"

"I told him a new one."

"A new one?"

Her husband laughed softly. "Yes, strangely enough I am capable of making up stories you know!" He kissed her and began stroking her ebony hair.

"What was this story about then?" She asked quietly, yawning despite her best efforts not to.

"It was about stars," Aragorn said, closing his eyes and fighting back a yawn. "You see there was this Man and his beautiful Elven princess, who were so in love that when they died they- they-" He cut off as the yawn escaped. "They went to live together happily ever after on a star..." He trailed off and looked at his beautiful Elven princess lying right next to him, eyes closed, face a picture of utter perfection. She was asleep.

He smiled to himself and kissed her forehead, closing his eyes. Sleep took him easily, and he dreamed of stars in a twilight sky, and of love. In his dreams he didn't realise the connection between these two things. They would never die nor diminish, break nor shatter. They were endless, unchanging, immortal.

They were forever.

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thanks for reading, hope you had an enjoyable ride!!! 


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